Shelters taking in exotic pets, too

What are you going to do with that adorable hamster that Santa left in your Christmas stocking?

Brian J. Lowney

What are you going to do with that adorable hamster that Santa left in your Christmas stocking?

Some will be thrilled with their gift (especially if the hamster came with its own exercise globe). But the folks who weren't expecting — or particularly wanting — a hamster now face the great responsibility of caring for a pet.

Dogs and cats aren't the only pets you'll find at an animal shelter these days. More exotic creatures are being taken in, too. Some are surrendered by owners hit hard by the tough economy. Others were gifts that just didn't work out.

According to Karen Concepcion, manager of Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River, many pet gifts are relinquished to shelters and rescue groups once the novelty wears off and the new owner discovers that owning a pet requires commitment and a financial obligation.

"These animals can be hard to take care of and people just don't have the time," she says, adding that most new owners aren't prepared to clean cages a few times a week or spend time socializing a bird or bunny.

Concepcion adds that shelter workers often adopt small animals such as hamsters and gerbils or locate an appropriate rescue group to foster and place the creature.

"We try to find the right place for it or we direct people to the right organization," she says.

Melinda Ventura, coordinator at the Humane Society & Shelter — SouthCoast in Dartmouth, reports that rabbits are often surrendered once novice owners realize that these animals require a lot of care.

"Bunnies are a tough placement," Ventura says. "People want them for children and think that all they need to do is stick them out in a hutch."

Ventura adds that the Dartmouth shelter is inundated with bunnies and ducklings after Easter, and that she adopts many of these creatures and cares for them on her small hobby farm.

"Rabbits need to be watered daily and they can't be kept in the hot sun," she says. These animals, like cats and dogs, should receive routine veterinary care, be spayed or neutered and receive a nutritious, well-balanced diet, she adds.

"They need more than just rabbit pellets," Ventura says, noting that once the animal matures, its teeth must be cleaned and claws trimmed.

"Many rabbits have arrived here hardly able to walk," she says. "Nobody cared to trim the animal's feet."

Too often, she says, rabbits are treated as "disposable pets" and aren't given the same consideration as cats and dogs.

"The whole Easter bunny thing is our worst nightmare."

While the Dartmouth facility tries to place small creatures such as hamsters, guinea pigs and gerbils with new families or rescue groups, the animals sometimes have to be euthanized if the creature is too sick to be rehabilitated.

"It's difficult to convince an owner to spend more money on veterinary care than they spent to purchase the animal," Ventura says.

Since not all veterinarians care for these small animals, an owner has to find a practitioner who does before an emergency arises.

German pet writer and avian expert Ann Castro recommends that prospective parrot owners pet-sit or foster one of these colorful birds before deciding to make a purchase. Birds should never be bought as surprise gifts for owners who have no clue how to care for the creature.

"What you see in a pet store with full-time staff gives prospective owners not the slightest indication of the mess, destruction and behavioral challenges they will have to face living with parrots," she writes in an e-mail.

Castro emphasizes that parrots are exotic animals that have special habitat requirements such as high humidity and special foods.

"Parrots are social animals which form strong bonds," she says. "Thus they should never be kept without a same species, opposite sex mate. A human cannot replace a mate. Major behavior problems such as screaming and plucking are correlated to parrots being kept without a mate."

Castro says the key to living harmoniously with a parrot, or with any other bird, is to be knowledgeable about behavior, housing arrangements and diet before acquiring a feathered friend.

"People go with their dogs to puppy school to learn good behavior," she writes. "No one would dream of getting a puppy and only doing any sort of training after the dog has bitten someone. With parrots, however, this is a standard procedure."

To learn more about parrot and avian behavior, visit www.annsworld.com.

Swansea resident Brian J. Lowney has been writing about pets for more than a decade. He is a past president of the Wampanoag Kennel Club, an active dog show judge and shares his home with two shelter-adopted cats. All of Brian's columns are available online in our new pet section. Visit http://pets.SouthCoastToday.com

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